Music therapy can be a powerful emotional tool to manage how people think, feel

You don’t have to be a musician to play music or appreciate good music. At least it’s not a requirement of music therapy. You may simply wish to sing – your voice is an instrument after all. Or, you may want to visit a guitar store and get yourself a guitar. Plenty of guitar stores sell guitars for beginners, and it’s the perfect instrument for music therapy because it’s so easy to start playing. Or you could simply listen to a soothing music that can help overcome your anxiety.

“If you have no music skill, it doesn’t matter,” said George Wanke, the former integrated dual diagnosis treatment team leader at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center who helped launch the music therapy group. He is now part of the Bert Nash Child and Family Services staff. “All you really have to do is have an interest in investigating music and have it be part of your recovery.”

Music can even help dementia patients. It can elicit emotions and memories, as well as provide a link to a person’s past and promote interconnection with caregivers and others with dementia. Recent research suggests that musical training might delay cognitive decline and promote brain plasticity in the elderly brain. Dementia music therapy can be used to improve cognitive function in people with dementia. Listening to music has the greatest effect on dementia patients, followed by singing. It might also improve the quality of life of people suffering from dementia.

The Bert Nash psychosocial rehabilitation program started a seven-week trial for adult music therapy last February. The trial went so well the decision was made to offer music therapy on an ongoing basis. The group is available for Community Support Services clients – individuals who have been diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illness.

The benefits of music therapy are quite well-known. People resort to different types of music genres, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they are feeling low. Upbeat music also tends to energize the crowd easily. When it comes to therapy, music can easily elevate the mood andeven reduce stress.“Music therapy can aid peoplein managing theirthoughts and feelings, whichis what it’s allabout,” Wanke said.“This is a way to provideanother skill for peopleto manage how they think and feel about themselves.

Abbey Dvorak, KU assistant professor of music therapy, leads the music therapy group, along with Bert Nash case managers T.Q. Warren and Jessica Pennewell. 

“It’s a really great experience for people to make music together,” Dvorak said. “They don’t have to have any music skills or talent; they don’t have to play an instrument. They can just come and be themselves.”

The music therapy group meets from 1-2 p.m. on Fridays. Average attendance is about six. The group is interactive, but members can choose to participate at their comfort level.

“Even if you just want to listen, music has an impact on the way you feel and think,” Wanke said.

Music therapy groups are intended to be a fun and safe place for participants. After attending such music sessions, people tend to develop an interest in learning to sing or playing instruments such as guitars or ukuleles.

“In the past, I would make an excuse or not feel like going to group,” one client said. “This is the first group that I have not missed a single one.”

Music therapist Dvorak said experience shows music can be a powerful emotional tool.

“A lot of people have shared how music has helped them get through a really difficult time in their life,” Dvorak said. “In some cases it might save a life, because someone might have been considering harming themselves and they heard a song that let them know they weren’t alone in what they were going through in their life.”

For at least one client, that was the case. Music offered a reason to live.

“Music saved my life,” the client said. "I had decided to kill myself one day and then that song came on the radio, ‘Somewhere I Belong,’ by Linkin Park. Listening to that song saved my life. The singer knew what I was going through.”